Share “OKC Thunder: George Karl changes his tune...”

OKC Thunder: George Karl changes his tune on Scott Brooks

Now Denver's George Karl ranks the Oklahoma City Thunder coach among the top 10 in the NBA.

Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks

"Scott has moved into being a top-10 coach, (and) some people would put him higher than that," the Nuggets coach told the Denver Post before Friday's game against Oklahoma City. "I love coaching against him. There are a lot of similarities and we know one another. ... (Remember that) he took over the team when Durant and Westbrook weren't two of the top-five players in basketball and they've become that because of Scott's direction, guidance and system.

"I think something that's lost in coaching is (that) coaching developing players is a huge part of being an NBA basketball coach."

During the Nuggets-Thunder playoff series in 2011, Karl called his former assistant coach "cocky."

"He's pretty cocky," Karl said then. "He's confident. And his team is confident. At times, when you get by him, you think they might be too cocky."